Amanda Seyfried reveals that Blake Lively was almost cast as Karen in ‘Mean Girls’
By Lianne Kolirin, CNN
Amanda Seyfried has revealed that her breakthrough role in “Mean Girls” could have gone to “Gossip Girl” star Blake Lively.
The 2004 teen comedy, adapted by Tina Fey from the 2002 book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman, grossed more than $129 million worldwide.
The movie follows 16-year-old Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, who moves to public school from Africa where she was home schooled. She quickly catches the attention of “the Plastics,” a clique of girls who indoctrinate her into their ways, including rules about what days to wear pink and the fact that ex-boyfriends are “off-limits” to friends.
“I think the reason I got Karen was I played that person in high school in order to stay out of the drama,” Seyfried said in an interview with Vanity Fair. “It was a much easier transition into playing Karen from where I was at in my life at that point.”
However, she also revealed that she initially auditioned for fellow Plastics member Regina, and Lively played Karen.
Seyfried recalled: “I had worked with this comedic director on my Karen audition because I’d first auditioned for Regina, and I’d flown out to LA for the first time with my mother.
“It was very exciting. I met Lacey Chabert for the first time, and Lindsay Lohan was in the room, and Blake Lively was playing Karen. And then I was Regina.”
The video interview with Seyfried saw her re-watching movies she had starred in and discussing her recollections of them.
She said that, after she flew home, she was told that she was better suited to play Karen.
To capture the character’s whispery voice, Seyfried said she looked to Marilyn Monroe’s role in movie “Some Like It Hot” for inspiration.
Rachel McAdams was eventually cast in the role of Regina.
Seyfried added: “I remember the feeling of everybody really wanting to be there and really appreciating the ingenious of the script. I remember everybody having a lot of fun. There was just a vibe … they cast it right.”
Lively, who recently had her fourth child with husband Ryan Reynolds, went on to enjoy her own television and movie success, appearing in “The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants” the year after “Mean Girls” was released, and having a lead role in “Gossip Girl” from 2007 until the show ended in 2012.
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CNN’s Lisa Respers France contributed reporting.
